Mechanisation and renovation of factories are among the important suggestions put forward by an expert committee constituted by the State government to prepare a revival plan for cashew sector. Marketing of premium brand cashews and expansion of cashew farming also figure in the report that was submitted last week. The experts observed that changes are needed to compete with low-cost cashew products from Vietnam and African countries. They also suggested that plans for this should be formulated through public-private partnership. The five-member committee recommended to launch brands like Kollam Cashew and Kerala Cashew with GI tag and Industries Minister P. Rajeev said further steps will be taken after studying the report.
The report said that mechanisation should be introduced in a phased manner without affecting the livelihood of the existing workforce. “This will help to avoid losses during the processing of raw cashew nuts. Productivity should be ensured and unnecessary expenses should be avoided. Research activities should be carried out in collaboration with institutions including IITs and NITs. The procurement system should be improved,” said the report. Another major recommendation is to expand cashew farming to land owned by various departments of the State government. The report found that bringing cashew cultivation under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and persuading the Central government to declare cashew as a plantation crop will be beneficial for the sector.
The expert committee has submitted suggestions to improve administrative efficiency of Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation (KSCDC) and Kerala State Cashew Workers Apex Industrial Cooperative Society (Capex). Dr. S. Venkataraman, associate professor, Strategic Management, IIM Kozhikode, KSCDC chairman S. Jayamohan, State Planning Board Industry and Infrastructure division former chief N.R. Joy and Centre for Socio-economic and Environmental Studies director Dr. N. Ajithkumar are the members of expert committee.
